#project shellfire

[d1s4strous]

my dealer: got some straight gas🔥🔥🔥 this strain is called "project shellfire" 😳 you'll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

me: yeah whatever. i don't feel shit.

5 minutes later: dude i swear i just saw a huge dragon-ship underwater

my buddy hiccup, pacing: the grimborn brothers are lying to us

[ppaleoartistgallery]

HTTYD Flocking

today on Paleostream we drew HTTYD dragons!!!!

closeups and design explanations/descriptions below:

terrible terror and monstrous nightmare: you'll notice all the dragons arent hexapods, deliberate choice on my end, not much has changed about the terrible terror tbh, it just only has four limbs now, less spikes, longer feet, and a more crown-like horn arrangement.

but ooh the monstrous nightmare lmao, i decided to shrink it down and remove a lot of its spikes, i wanted to make it a sorta chihuahua of dragons, small and feels like it can pick on everything. but relies on its projectile venom to save it. instead of lighting on fire, it lights its enemies eyes on fire by spraying venom from venom glands along its neck, back, and tail at the enemy

for the hideous zippleback, i decided to give them beaks (cause i felt like it) and make it so the double head is an illusion caused by the smaller sessile male who's constantly attached to the female, the female has a smaller crest and horns which makes the male's smaller head but larger features balance out the silhouettes. the male rides on the female's back everywhere being held in place by his claws and her wingtips, i also made the female cursorial because i felt like it again

the rumblehorn, i went for beetle-like wings and elytra-like display feathers, and for the funny i gave it a rhinoceras beetle head, and two toes on each foot

the razorwhip is a really cool design, but i was thinking that it would be a sleek and efficient killer, so i gave it smooth and dark scales that are incredibly reflective, and a parankylosaur macuahuitl. i also gave it bottom tooth-like projections on its bottom jaw

for the whispering death, i made it a derived ray-finned fish because dragons are anything you want them to be (also inspired by Wyatt Andrews' Rodan design). i replaced its eyes with two white bioluminescent display features, and put its eyes where its nostrils usually are and gave it a gulper eel mouth with a loooot of gill rakers to replace the rows of teeth

the red death, i decided to keep its size large, i took a lot of sauropod inspiration from this one. airsacs replaced the posterior two eyes, and i gave it a tail club and tooth-like keratin projections on the lower jaw

we ended with the shellfire, even as a kid i hated the design, at this point i was on four hours of sleep and had been awake for about 12 hours, so i just made an over-sized placoderm with spurs on the side of its head, cause dragons are anything you want them to be

[ashleybenlove]

Love how Viggo remembers the twins when he mentions Project Shellfire.

[evilwriter37]

Fic Rec Time!

Just finished reading this fic by an anonymous author. Guys, it was so, so good. The description was amazing and visceral. Very great fic.

Summary: Leaving Snotlout on guard duty has been a bad idea. It becomes painfully apparent to Viggo as he watches the flames spread.

Meanwhile, Hiccup rushes into the fire to save his archenemy but with the Shellfire slowing him down, will he make it on time?

[howtowhumpyourhiccup]

Detached

Summary: Written for AI-less Whumptober 2023 Day 8. Set after RttE’s Shell-shocked Part 1 & 2. Viggo dissociates near the Edge volcano.

Warning: /

Rating: General

Characters: Hiccup, Viggo

Pairing: /

Words: 448

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon

Prompt: Dissociation

Whumpee: Viggo

Author’s Notes: Don't really have much to say for this one. Just saw this prompt, had some trouble finding the right idea for this one, but then eventually settled on a Viggo whump fic.

Enjoy!

@ailesswhumptober

XOXOX

There are only two things he remembers the most; the heat and the pain.

The heat was like an all consuming fire, though there were no actual flames licking at his skin. It fell like a weight on him, slowly suffocating the life out of him. He couldn’t breathe, the very air felt like it burned him alive on the inside.

The pain was sudden and blinding. One moment, there was just the heat, the next he was writhing on the ground, screaming in agony as his flesh was eaten away and his eye blinded. He was thrusted into endless suffering, the kind that made him wish for death as a mercy.

That is what he remembers most.

-XOXOX-

“Viggo.”

“Viggo, hey!” Hiccup waves his hand in front of the man in an attempt to gain his attention. The closer they got to the Edge Volcano, the less present he seems.

“Hm, yes?” Viggo’s answer comes out rather dazed, something the younger man isn’t used to see from him.

“I was asking you if you were sure about this?” He repeats his question. He’s patient. Surprised that Viggo would come back so soon after the whole ordeal with the Shellfire dragon and being found burned and bleeding on his doorstep, but patient.

Viggo doesn’t answer and that feels like an answer enough.

He thought of coming here, retrieving the Dragon-Eye, and solidifying this sudden alliance with the Dragon Riders. They did just spent weeks helping him heal, all the while cleaning up the mess the Hunters had made of their island, their volcano in particular. The earth rumbles ever so often, the mountain is angry. Yet, despite this impossible problem, Hiccup still spent his nights keeping Viggo company. And a clean slate deserves to be commemorated with an artifact.

But now that they’re here, nearing the top, he feels unwell.

There’s this disconnection that he can’t quite explain. He’s in his body, watching through his own eyes, yet doesn’t feel like a part of himself and it’s a truly dizzying experience. He feels faint, his reality a stranger to him.

He must wear a look that says as such, Hiccup grows worried.

“Okay, you know what?” He starts, “how about we go back down and enjoy a nice lunch instead? Odinn knows it took me a long time to return to where I lost my leg.”

A chuckle leaves him, but Viggo finds himself not noticing, much like how he didn’t hear his question just moments earlier.

Grabbing him by the arm, Hiccup isn’t giving him any choice. He pulls Viggo back down with him again, Toothless following close behind. The Dragon-Eye will have to wait for another day.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

"...That's...not what happened from our perspective Hiccup. For one, dad never infected anyone with the scourge. Yes, the disease was on his boat and yes he was going to exploit it. But remember, your wife went in there by herself." Mitzy crossed its arms. "And for the record, I WAS around when project shellfire went up. And that's not what really happened. Do you think he'd ever open himself up to you? I don't think you get it, Hiccup. And you also HAVE harmed innocent women and children, THOUSANDS of our families have died because of the ships you shot down! Don't ever call my dad playing the victim. You have NO IDEA what you've done to us. And yes, Hiccup, he will continue to say you hurt me. Dagur's your best friend, isn't he?"

Mitzy huffed. "...I think I should just get my dad and go. Clearly, someone doesn't like admitting he's done just as much damage as he's taken. I'm sorry, Hiccup, I am. I wanted to be your friend. Really I did. But you haven't admitted you were wrong, ONCE."

He shook his head. "No, Viggo had said himself that he planted the ship where he knew one of us would come across it in our patrols, he knew...he said he didn't care who it was, only that he could use me to find the Buffalord...Mitzy, I was eighteen. I was doing what I thought was right, I was defending dragons, defending Berk, defending my friends."

"Yes, I made mistakes. No, I didn't think of the relatives of the dragon hunters. Should there have been as much destruction as there was? No, of course not! But those dragon hunters chose to be in their line of work. It was Krogan who said he didn't care if his men lived or died. I did care, but when you're at war, you have to protect your own. If I had hesitated, I'd be dead, so would my friends. And your father would have driven dragons to extinction."

"I wanted to be friends, too. I never meant to hurt you Mitzy, and I'm truly sorry. I'd still like to try to help you fly again, but if you don't want to stay, I'm not going to force you."

[soulhunterrr]

Viggo: God, give me patience.

Ryker: I think you mean 'give me strength'.

Viggo: If God gave me strength, you'd be dead.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(To my fellow friends that haven't watched project Shellfire I inform you that there's a little spoiler in the tags)

[astridthefearless]

You can hear Tuff’s inner voice: Wha-at? Did I sacrifice Macey because of THIS reaction? NO WAYY!! 

[zozophoenixxx]

Serotonin Booster :D 🐉

How to train your dragon edition

Here are some things I had forgotten or little details I just noticed on my rewatch, maybe even Unpopular Opinions 🤭👀

✨Race to the Edge ✨

SEASON 4

Tuffnut choked on a stun dart- I think I've seen it all regarding the twins HAHDHSHHA

Fishlegs really had Meatlug opening its mouth WIDE JUST TO SAY ABORT THE VERY LAST SECONDHAHSHGSGG

I love how Hiccup and Astrid can communicate without actually talking 🥺

I love how all dragons are a reflection of each of their owners like even tho Barf and Belch aren't the smartest they can be whenever they actually try

- Snotlout and Hookfang are both hotheaded and never really listen

- Fishlegs and Meatlug both are sweet, smart, resourceful and jealous sometimes hehe

- The twins and Barf and Belch are crazy and dumb but can be smart and strong whenever they need to be

- Astrid and Stormfly are both authoritative and badasses but also caring

- Hiccup and Toothless are both natural born leaders

Astrid built the ballista

Fun fact: Mala means bad in Spanish and it makes sense if you think about it cause Mala is BADASS HAHDHSHAHA😂 sorry I make bad jokes like that

Hiccup referring to Tuffnut as one of his best friends is adorable 🥺

"Flattery has no effect on me, mainly because I never hear any" dudeee ruff that's so saddd🥺😭

JAJDHHSJSJS TUFFNUT REALLY SAID "IT'S TIME FOR BALLISTA-NUT" AND JUMPED RIGHT OFF OF TOOTHLESS

And then him actually fighting Gruffnut is pretty badass I mean they threw actual punches and kicks and everything 😳

Why was Hiccup so cold towards Astrid? When she was just trying to help with his bounty problem

The way Toothless prevented Stoick from killing Savage 🥺🥺🥺

Now that I think abt it Hiccup got kidnapped so many times

Stoick punching Ryker and threatening him is one of the best things I've seen 🤩

Dude poor Snotlout was just insecure in ep4 And I love how Hiccup tried to help him and even then Snotlout still tried his best to show that he can be a leader

- i really loved how he learned that he couldn't just stop covering someone, I mean even when Astrid told him to "peel off and help Hiccup" he was like "no way I'm not leaving your wing" 🥺🥺🥺

Submaripper - tidal class, super powerful, prefer deeper open water and typically very reclusive. Extremely territorial and dangerous.

I LOVE HOW THE SUBMARIPPER SAVED HICCUP, and Toothless's face whenever he couldn't get Hiccup out and Barf and Belch breaking the pod to get him 🥺🥺🥺I can't

𝕃𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕤𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕪𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕠𝕞𝕤 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕤

- multifaceted disorder

Uncontrollable euphoria - Astrid

Lack of coordination - Heather

Mood swings - Snotlout

Complete catatonia

Cold ankles

Rash

Paranoia - Fishlegs

I CAN'T LOOKING AT THEM LIKE THIS IS JUST TOO FUNNY. NO ISTG EPISODE 7 IS GOLDDDD AND WHEN THE DRAGONS TOOK OVER 😂

Stoick is so fine 🤩

JAHDHAHSHA HICCUP REALLY OUT HERE FAT-SHAMING HIS DAD when poor Stoick is just trying to tell him that going after Viggo only for revenge is neither safe nor the right thing to do

- "What? What do you mean? You love revenge. Revenge is your thing. Weren't they gonna name you Stoick the Vindictive before... Well you know." *signals to Stoick*

Shadow wings - ep7 they follow, herd and shadow. Big one isn't as fast or maneuverable. Small ones are smart and quick. The big one looks like the submaripper.

AND THE WAY TOOTHLESS DEALT WITH THE LAST OF THEM. It was amazingggg he dived down towards a lil pond but he couldn't see cause of the dust and so HE USED THAT ONE SHOT THAT LETS HIM SEE TO KNOW WHEN TO GO BACK UP AND ALLOW THE BIG SHADOW WING TO CRASH AGAINST THE WATER.

The Flying Shatter-Scatter move with Shattermaster and Windshear was so cool and it's also basically the only thing that has pierced through dragon-proof ships

Bro I really wanted to see Astrid saving Toothless when she saw he was in danger in ep8

I DONT WANT HEATHER TO LEAVE UGHHHH 🥺

HEATHER AND FISHLEGS ARE SO GOALS I CANT 🥺🥺🥺🥺😭 I LOVE THEM TOO MUCH

Everyone's shocked faces whenever Hiccup and Fishlegs weren't thinking the same thing HAHDHSHABA

Toothless's facial expressions whenever he saw Astrid was in danger and the way he grabbed Snotlout and went down the volcano just to try and save her- I love their relationship 🥺

And how Hiccup was so worried when he saw Astrid in the lava and the way he grabbed her 🥺🥺🥺🥺

Dude I shipped Throk and Mala so harddd

And the red night terrors ufff we love them

Tuffnut just killed Macey

Ruffnut is so badass bro I love her she really had a sword to her neck and was like "take your best shot pal"

Project Shellfire: a weaponized dragon, Shellfire - tidal class, Titanwing, bigger than a submaripper, long range firing capabilities.

Hiccup just saved Astrid from falling to the water and the way he looked at her right after he put her down- he seemed so concerned I can't 🥺😭

BLINDSIDED ALSO LOVE THIS EPISODE 🤩🥺

First name Astrid calls out is Hiccup's 🥺

Her eyes omg

The way she started hyperventilating and the way he held her hand with both of his and the way he kneeled down next to her and made sure she knew that he was still there and the way Toothless's facial expression went 🥺😔 and the way he put his wing on her legs to try and cover her or protect her 🥺🥺🥺I can't

I mean Imagine how Astrid must've felt I just can't I'd be so stressed out and desperate and the next day she was just like I'm going to look for my dragon idc

No dude because the way Hiccup grabbed her by the waist to prevent her from falling off of Toothless and how both of their expressions softened whenever he told her not to apologize and whenever she hugged him 🥺

I love how the twins are trying to learn how Astrid feels but Ruffnut takes advantage of "blind" Tuffnut and has him run off of a cliff

AND HOW HE CAUGHT HER AND GOT SO NERVOUS WHEN THEY BOTH FELL DOWN 🥺 wait now that I'm watching it again he actually prevented her from getting hit in the head omg

"Of course she's not gonna hide. What was I thinking? She's Astrid."

MISTAKE whenever Astrid took the dragons out of their pens they weren't wearing their saddles and now that they've found them they have them on.

Them spending time with each other's dragons is so funny

Nonono I can't this is the beginning of it all! The beginning of Hiccstrid dating is HERE!!!! and that scene whenever he tells her that she's strong and they'll get through it and he holds her arm and then slowly moves down to her hand 🥺 I love them too much I can't- I want what they have. HE WAS GOING IN FOR THE KISS TOO I CANTTTTT OK THIS IS TOO MUCH

"There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Always."

TOOTHLESS'S FACE 😳

I love how Meatlug got so serious after she heard Toothless's distress call

ASTRID IS SO BADASS I CAN'T SHE'S JUST SUCH A NATURAL AND AUTHORTITAVE I LOVE HER

THE HAND THING WITH ASTRID AND THE TRIPLE STRYKE 😩

Fishlegs riding Hookfang is HILARIOUS

That final scene is gold bro I just can they're too perfect I mean we get Toothless and Stormfly messing around in the background and then we get Hiccup scooting towards Astrid so that their shoulders were touching and also Hiccup asking Astrid if she's really ok and then him telling her that he never stops worrying about her and her saying that she feels the same way AND HER ASKING HIM ABOUT THE ALMOST-TO-BE-FIRST-KISS IN THE FOREST and him getting all nervous and being like "no it wasn't perfect" and telling her that he thinks abt kissing her a lot AND HER BEING LIKE "this seems pretty perfect to me" AND THEN BAMM THE KISS UGHHH IM NOT CRYING OK... yes I am😭

Hiccstrid kiss count: 2😘

I love how Astrid comforts Hiccup and puts her hand on his chest

Wait shit I completely forgot That Snotlout is actually the one that came up with ~Hiccstrid~ hehehehe -> also the first one to notice that they were acting kinda sus (nvm he thought one of them had a gambling problem)

Ruffnut's impression of Viggo is actually pretty accurate

Heather knowing about Hiccup and Astrid and just getting the gang away so that they can have a few seconds alone

OMG THE SUBMARIPPER I LOVE IT!! It is the natural and hated enemy of the Shellfire

The Triple Stryke let Dagur ride him

HICCUP CALLED DAGUR BROTHER I CANT

No and when they kissed IN FRONT OF THE GANG AND THEY WERE ALL LIKE 😳😦 AND "This. Changes. Everything." Iconic

I can't imagine watching this season by season and having to deal with that cliffhanger LIKE WHUT- the whole volcano just exploded and ur telling me that's IT!! Nope nope nope

[funnywiccan]

Chapter Six: A complicate story - Le Joyau le plus preciux

Finally!! It’s been such a long time... A lot of things happened, and I was unable to finish this chapter properly. But at last here we are, hope you’ll enjoy :)

Link to the previous chapters:

Prologue: https://funnywiccan.tumblr.com/post/169363096019/prologue-le-joyau-le-plus-precieux

First chapter: https://funnywiccan.tumblr.com/post/171248331504/chapter-one-thief-in-the-night-le-joyau-le-plus

First part of the second chapter: https://funnywiccan.tumblr.com/post/173125792479/chapter-two-the-black-rabbit-le-joyau-le-plus

Second part of the second chapter (third chapter): https://funnywiccan.tumblr.com/post/175488888629/chapter-two-part-ii-the-black-rabbit-le-joyau

Fourth chapter: https://funnywiccan.tumblr.com/post/182990718414/chapter-four-family-le-joyau-le-plus-precieux

Fifth chapter: https://funnywiccan.tumblr.com/post/184256208749/chapter-five-the-encounter-le-joyau-le-plus

L: “There was a time when I was on the side of the law, too. I was an FBI agent, in the section for the recover of cultural heritage, and my brother was also my partner. We had arrested a lot of criminals together, and soon we became famous for our very correct policy: never killed someone. Our nicknames were “Lucky Luke”, precisely, and “Jolly Jumper”. They became like code names for us.”

L: One day we followed a clue about the illegal trade of a stock of rare paintings. Have you ever heard about the fire of the Flakturm Friedrichshain?

J: No, never.

L: It was the greatest artistic disaster of modern history. It happened in May 1945, right after the World War II. There were three towers defending the city of Berlin, made to stand any kind of attack. One of them was builtede in the district of Friedrichshain. The towers were used later as warehouses to protect from the shellfire objects, sculptures and paintings from the museums all around the capital and more others. Unexpectedly, in the Friedrichshain a fire burst out for five days and destroyed most of the artistic pieces. And here we come back to our story.

L: It seems that who attended to stop the flames never stated, if not in secreted documents as diaries and letters, that they kept for themselves about ten paintings. We’re talking of Caravaggio, Rubens, Goya: paintings that those men had sold underground in years. You can imagine how much those paintings worth: they are the few survivors of 417.

J: Let’s see... Usually the prices in the auctions are around some millions...

L: Oh no, here we talk about billions, Joe.

J: ... Damn!

L: Me and Jolly, against the opinion of our chief, accepted to take care of that case: the artworks would have been solded in great secret from an art dealer to a mysterious purchaser.

L: “One of the dealer’s man was very happy to blurt out everything after two or three glasses of whisky. When we discovered the place of the negotiation we organized a team, and in a few minutes of action the participants to it were in handcuffs.”

L: All went as planned and we recovered the paintings, but... Something strange happened: Jolly disappeared into thin air some hours later. I looked for him everywhere, for days; his cellular was dead. Then I’ve received a phonecall.

L: The boss of the art dealer hadn’t liked our intervention, so he had kidnapped my brother. He said that he wanted the paintings back, or else I would never see Jolly again. I told my boss about it, and you know what he answered?

J: Let me guess: “It’s not my problem”? I bet he repaired himself behind thousand of runarounds.

L: Then I took the initiative: I picked up the artworks from the depot and went where agreed with the kidnappers. In my naivety I believed that they would respect our deal, but they don’t. Rather, I got stuck by their boss. Maybe his name will sound familiar to you: Arthus Mason.

J: Wait: that Arthur Mason? The illegal dealer of artworks never arrested?

L: “Precisely. He said that he had noticed my talent and appreciate my method. And he proposed me a new deal: he would have freed my brother in exchange of some commission thefts, not to resell again the objects but for personal collecting. I had no choice; I resigned and I followed him here in Paris. I have to admit that he was a criminal but a gentleman.”

J: “It’s strange to me that you haven’t finished yet. Didn’t Arthur Mason died six months ago?”

L: “His son Dorian took the charge. Unike his father, unfortunately, he have a more cruel personality: while Arthur was well disposed in accepting compromises in affairs and forgive the mistakes of his subjects, Dorian has no mercy for anyone. Since he is the boss... Well, let’s just say that a lot of art dealers employed by the family disappeared. Until some time ago he kept intact the deal I had with his father.”

J: “What changed?”

L: He... ordered me to eliminate someone. A rival in his business.

J: And you refused, right?

L: Of curse; he laughed at me, giving me an ultimatum of three weeks to complete the “job”, or Jolly would pay the consequences. It was before Versailles. there I’ve decided to cut this story for good.

J: And here we comes to the reason why I am bound on this chair, I presume.

L: I’ve observed you for a long time, Joe Dalton...

L: ... Since the day you have been assigned to my case. You can help me not only in saving my brother, but also to square things up with Dorian Mason.

J: Me? What are you talking about?

L: You can do what I can’t, since I have lost my authority: arrest Dorian Mason. And not only him, but consequently also all his collaborators in the circle of illegal art deals.

J: And you want me to believe that you need me only for that?!?

L: Don’t fuss, you’ll fall. And no, in fact it’s not only for that: of all the agents you immediately seemed to me the most tenacious and reliable. Also...

L: ,,, I know you can understand me. You have three brothers that you would protect at any cost. I saw how much close you all are.

L: If one of them was in trouble-

J: I would move heaven and earth to bring him out! Yes, I can understand.

L: Once saved Jolly there will be no more thefts; you’ll have a thief less to think about and one more criminal behind the bars.

J: I have one last question.

L: I’m listening.

J: Would you mind tell me how you were able to keep an eye on me?

J: Ah, thanks, my circulation was being blocked.

L: Sorry, I’m not practical of kidnappings but really more gentle when it comes to deactivate alarms! To answer your question, I’m sorry, but have to find it on your own.

L: Do you accept to embark in this venture with me? But I have to warn you: nor your brothers nor your coworkers have to know about all of this.

J: Why?

L: Less people know about this mess, less is the risk for them to end up in troubles too. It will be only the two of us, detective Dalton. Sure, you’re free to refuse, but in that case your thief will become a murderer and I don’t like that prospect too.

J: You know, usually anybody else would think twice before throwing hisself in what looks like the project of a lunatic...

J: ... I accept.

L: Really?

J: Let’s just say that I want to believe this whole story. If the real criminal is the one who holds prisoner your brother I’ll help you bring him behind the bars of a cell.

J: But I warn you, I don’t take orders from you!

L: No problem. Ah, Joe Dalton...

L: ... I couldn’t expected a better answer! Thank you so much!

J: Wwwwww-Wait to thanks me!! Oh dammit, again?!?

C: Luke? I have an unexpected replacement in ten minutes, Miranda doesn’t feel good; could you please go and pick up Amélie after you have finished with your boyfriend?

L: No problem, Cheyenne.

J: His- what?!? Hey!!!

C: You’re the best, thank you!

L: Duty calls.

L: What do you say, let’s go eat something together later?

J: What?

L: My niece will come out from school soon, And since it’s almost lunch time, I thought to invite you. After all in this neighborhood there are countless restaurants.

J: Oh... That’s fine, I think.

J: Wait!!! But where are we?!?

L: Right, I almost forgot. Welcome to the Moulin Rouge.

[flowersbloomingg]

Getting Used to It - PART 2: The Gang / An HTTYD Fanfic

Word Count: 1.8k (this part)

Summary: The misadventures of Hiccup and Astrid’s budding romantic relationship.

In this part: Hiccup and Astrid explain more of what the gang saw on the volcano after Project Shellfire. 

Masterlist (coming soon!)

ao3 | ff.net

A/N: Here is part 2 of "Getting Used to It"!

I would've had this uploaded last week on Friday or Saturday, but I got distracted by Animal Crossing every time I went to edit this lol

It's not as long as the other chapter, but I kind of wrote it as if it was a scene in RTTE, so it's a lot simpler. I wanted this part to be at least 2k words, but...I was just shy of that. If I tried to make it any longer, it would've just been too much. So, we'll leave it where it is!

I hope you enjoy!

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"Wait, you guys have been together for that long?" Fishlegs asks, his eyes wide and shock in his voice.

"Since the Triple Stryke?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut question in unison, similar expressions on their faces as Fishlegs.

"And you didn't tell us?"

Hiccup and Astrid just stare at their friends, feeling as though this was some sort of interrogation.

"For three whole moon cycles, you mean to tell me it wasn't gambling, but you guys being all lovey-dovey behind our backs?" Snotlout exclaims, in an almost mocking tone. He glares at the couple in question before he reclines back against his chair, clearly exasperated. "This is a cover-up. It was definitely gambling. No one can convince me otherwise."

Hiccup and Astrid glance at each other for a few seconds through their peripheral vision, and then look back at their friends. "I still have literally no idea where this gambling thing came from," Hiccup says.

"I know a gambling problem when I see it," Snotlout responds with a simple shrug of his shoulders.

Astrid rolls her eyes. "Clearly."

The gang have just returned to the clubhouse after making a rather quick patrol around Dragon's Edge to make sure everything was safe and secure after the destruction of Project Shellfire. While dinner was being prepared, it seemed ample time for Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins to question "Hiccstrid" (as Snotlout referred to them as) on the information they had received near the volcano only a few minutes ago…

…Hiccup and Astrid…

…were dating?

And had been for the past three months, they came to find out. Hiccup and Astrid explained that it all happened soon after the two of them returned to the Edge from Berk, after Gothi healed Astrid's eyesight.

So, that has been happening without the gang knowing about it. Hiccup and Astrid didn't just forget to tell everyone about it or give any sort of indication that they were a couple. So, the gang had no idea that this was all going on behind the scenes.

Which meant this all was quite the surprise. Especially in the way that they found out.

Yeah, that was an image that was never going to be fully wiped from Snotlout's memory, no matter how hard he tried.

"I don't have a gambling problem," Hiccup tells Snotlout for the umpteenth time.

"Which means it's not gambling, and you're actually dying!" Tuffnut exclaims enthusiastically and completely proud of himself. He reaches down and picks up Chicken from under the table. Tuffnut stares at her for a few moments before Chicken chirps. "Yes – the Chicken approves!"

Hiccup sighs. "No one has a gambling problem, and none of us are dying from a deadly disease! We told you this already!"

"Up-up-up!" Tuffnut responds, clearly not letting this conversation go. "I never said it was a deadly disease! I just said someone was dying!"

"Uh, actually, you did, stupid," Ruffnut says, punching her brother's arm. "You told us that a few hours ago when we were totally talking about Hiccup and Astrid behind their backs."

Tuffnut stares blankly at Ruffnut. "Oh. I guess I did." He blinks, and then looks back at Hiccup and Astrid. "Well, I retract – if that is the right word – my statement because in reality, we're all dying a slow and agonizing death, and each second we live is one second closer to the Dragon's Edge in the sky for all of us!"

Everyone stares at him.

"Wow. Way to bring down the mood, Tuff," Fishlegs says, eventually breaking the silence.

"Hey, it's my specialty…as well as knowing when someone is dying of a deadly disease."

"I think you might want to rethink that, Tuff," Astrid mumbles to herself, not intending for anyone besides herself and Hiccup to hear.

Except, Tuffnut glares directly at Astrid. "Rethink? Hoff…Hoff, you're the one who's mistaken. I never even thinked in the first place," Tuffnut corrects, pointing a finger at his fellow Dragon Rider. "No 'rethunking' has ever been done in this ol' noggin." He slams his head on the table for extra emphasis.

"Can we switch back to our original topic, please?" Fishlegs questions, annoyance evident in his voice.

"Which one? The deadly disease, the fact that we're all dying, or the gambling?" Ruffnut asks, counting on her fingers.

"Neither!" Fishlegs says at the same time Snotlout shouts, "Gambling!"

"No! We're talking about Hiccup and Astrid. No gambling, no diseases, and no dying." Fishlegs shakes his head and turns back to Hiccup and Astrid, who are holding hands underneath the table. "So, it's been since the Triple Stryke? It's been that long?"

"Three months isn't that long," Astrid suggests.

"It is when there's some very important information being hidden from you!" Fishlegs retorts.

Hiccup looks over at Astrid. "It's not very important, is it?"

"To them, at least," Astrid replies.

"No!" Tuffnut responds. "To 'them' it is important!" Tuffnut shouts, pointing at the couple accusatorily.

Ruffnut stands up from her seat. "When there's a couple in the group, the group deserves to know!"

Astrid blinks. "You do now. Plus, it's not even your relationship."

"Says you!" Ruffnut responds.

"Odin, help me…" Hiccup whispers to the ceiling.

"Okay, great, whatever, but you didn't tell us!" Snotlout exclaims, slamming a fist on the table. He was clearly emotional, though he would never admit to it.

Astrid shrugs her shoulders. "Yeah," she answers simply.

"Were you just…not going to mention it…at all?" Snotlout asks.

"No," Hiccup answers, shaking his head. "Of course not."

Snotlout scowls at him. "I hate being left out of things," he mumbles, crossing his arms and slumping like a child who didn't get what they wanted for Snoggletog.

"We were going to tell you all eventually, of course," Astrid explains. "We would never have just not told you guys. But…we wanted to wait a bit. To keep it between us for a while." She grins smugly at Fishlegs. "I mean, you did that with your relationship with Heather."

Snotlout cackles loudly. "Ooh, somebody get Fishlegs some ice for that burn!" he exclaims, Fishlegs's cheeks turning pink at the mention of his girlfriend.

"Yeah, because that comeback was on fire, and you need ice to cool yourself down!" Ruffnut shouts, pointing at Fishlegs mockingly.

"Or a cold bath! Whatever you're most comfortable with!" Tuffnut adds. "I personally like warm baths, but in this case, a warm bath would definitely not cool down your burn!"

Snotlout frowns at Tuffnut. "Okay, now you're ruining it."

"That's what our mom tells us every time we do anything!" Ruffnut exclaims, high fiving her brother excitedly.

"We weren't dating yet," Fishlegs corrects Astrid, continuing the conversation as if they had not just been rudely interrupted.

Astrid smirks and she looks down at her nails. "Those letters make me think otherwise," she sings, referring to the T-Mails Fishlegs and Heather exchanged before she briefly joined the Dragon Riders.

Before Fishlegs could answer, Tuffnut interrupts yet again. "Wait, so when Ruff and I interrupted you guys that one time to ask you about our cool catchphrases, you weren't about to give each other mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?"

"Oh, gods…" Hiccup mutters under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose to show his annoyance.

Yet again, Fishlegs continues the conversation as normal. "So…h-how did it happen? What's the story?"

"We just…talked about it," Hiccup answers, not necessarily wanting to go into the grave details about it. While yes, they were finally sharing this change in his and Astrid's lives, they wanted to keep certain details to themselves.

"Boring!" Snotlout sings, laying his head flat on the table, pretending to snore afterwards. "That's the lamest thing I've ever heard."

"No one asked you," Astrid responds, rolling her eyes.

"You're telling me. Therefore, I have the right to an opinion."

"You can keep it to yourself, though," Astrid reminds him.

"Well," Fishlegs says, smiling at Hiccup and Astrid, "congratulations, you two!"

"Thanks, 'legs," Hiccup grins. Astrid squeezes his hand, their fingers still intertwined underneath the table.

"In my defense," Snotlout says, looking directly at Hiccup, "Maces and Talons In-Real-Life against a crazy psychopath is definitely considered gambling."

Hiccup rolls his eyes, and he tries not to laugh at the fact that Snotlout is still convinced that someone in the group has a gambling problem. "Whatever you say."

Snotlout shrugs. "I mean, you've basically betted your life."

"Yes, Snotlout."

"And Viggo could've definitely killed you."

"I understand that, Snotlout," Hiccup says through gritted teeth.

"I'm honestly surprised he didn't-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Hiccup exclaims. He clears his throat afterwards, and he returns his attention to everyone in the group. "Okay, so, great, we all know now. It's out in the open. But, to make things clear: nothing has really changed with us as Dragon Riders just because of Astrid and I."

"But on the volcano, all of us said, 'this changes everything'. We all did. In a really dramatic way. It was almost like it was scripted." He blinks, and then shrugs. "In case you forgot. You might have a bad memory; I don't know."

"So…who's right here?" Ruffnut asks.

"Dear Thor…" Hiccup mumbles, covering his face with his free hand.

Astrid huffs. "Okay: things have changed with me and Hiccup. We can all agree on that."

"Is it that different from how things used to be?" Tuffnut asks, stroking his chin with his thumb.

"Honestly, I thought you guys have been dating since the Red Death," Ruffnut says simply.

"Yeah, when you kissed Hiccup in front of the entire village," Tuffnut reminds everyone.

"Or at Snoggletog when you kissed Hiccup in front of everyone there!"

"Or Thawfest-"

Astrid rolls her eyes. "Fine, yeah, sure, whatever. But we didn't officially start dating until three months ago."

"So…you were dating," Ruffnut says, smiling sinisterly.

"No, we weren't," Hiccup and Astrid respond at the same time, just about done with this conversation.

"But you said 'officially'," Tuffnut points out.

"Specifics," Astrid says with a roll of her eyes.

"But-"

"Let's just settle on this: Hiccup and I didn't start dating until three months ago. That's it. Okay? And now, all of you know about it."

"I still have questions!" Tuffnut interjects.

"So," Astrid continues, pretending she didn't hear him, "that might seem really different, but we're all still a team, we're still the Dragon Riders, and that hasn't changed." She smiles at Hiccup. "Hiccup and I are just…dating now. Other than that, everything's the same."

"Ooh," Fishlegs squeals, "I'm so happy for your two! Oh, this is so exciting!"

"Blah, blah, blah, this romance is making me sick!" Snotlout exclaims. He gets up from his seat without pushing his stool back under the table.

"Where are you going?" Hiccup asks as Snotlout stomps to the hearth.

"To get food. Duh."

Hiccup and Astrid laugh to themselves before they share a quick kiss, smiling to each other, happy that they don't have to hide their relationship anymore. While the secrecy of it all had been fun and exhilarating, it was nice to not keep it to themselves.

"See? Definitely could be mistaken for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Though you're supposed to do chest compressions first-"

"Tuffnut!"

"I'm done."

-----------------------------------------

A/N: There you have it! Part 2!

I don't have the third chapter written yet, but I'm hoping to get started on that later today or tomorrow. Classes officially ended last Friday, which means I only have one more semester of college left before I graduate!

And, my babysitting job unfortunately doesn't start until the beginning of June, but that means I still have a little over half a month to write some fics and hopefully get started on the multi-shot I've been wanting to write. I'm trying to get the story planned out, and I'm slowly but surely getting there, but...as I said before, Animal Crossing is very distracting lol

I hope you enjoyed this! Please be sure to let me know what you think of it, and if you have any ideas for future chapters of this!

As always, thank you for reading, and stay safe!

[howtohero]

#251 Insignias

Superheroes are symbols of hope for humanity. They represent the very best of us. They’re all that we’ve accomplished and all that we can become. Superheroes inspire the masses; they represent the eternal battle against the forces of evil; and they look really cool. All of this means that superheroes themselves need to come up with a symbol that represents them. A shorthand that can be used to signal that you’re nearby. An icon that can be used to instantly identify your work. If superheroes are powerful symbols, then they themselves need symbols that match that power. Let’s talk about your superhero insignia. 

Let me set the scene. You’ve disappeared off the face of the Earth, because you’ve been thrown into a time vortex by what you thought was a friendly anthropomorphic turtle (it was in fact an unfriendly anthropomorphic tortoise). Your hometown quickly descends into chaos because the other 27 heroes who live in your town have decided to go on a superhero camping trip which is a thing of course. Your town is left to the devices of villains, and that tortoise (her name is Shellfire and she’ll burn you with hellfire.) But because you’ve made such a powerful impression on the populace, a small yet dedicated resistance movement has sprung up in your honor. Its members want to capitalize on the goodwill and strength that you represent. They begin leaving calling cards around town, both to show the bad guys that they can not reign unopposed, and to signal other civilians that the time has come to rise up. What can they put on these calling cards? A note, explaining who they are and what their intentions are? Of course not. In a hellish tortoise-ruled dystopia, nobody has time to read informational flyers. (Did I mention that Shellfire puts the “tort” in torture.) A drawing of you, their dear-departed superhero? That’s no good either, people can be difficult to draw and unless their’s a very talented artist already in the resistance, then you run the risk of people not getting who this index-card-sized drawing is of. They’ll use your insignia, and that’s just one of the reasons why it’s so valuable to have a good one. (Did I mention that if any of Shellfire’s goons step out of line, she’ll fire them?) 

The best insignias are the perfect blend between simplistic and unique. Like we said, it needs to be easy enough to be sketched, spray painted, carved, or drawn with oil that you will then set on fire for an awesome visual. But you don’t want it to be so generic that people will have no idea what it represents. As we mentioned years ago, popular superhero symbols include animals or weather patterns. This is a really great way for symbol to mean absolutely nothing. You can’t just decide that all lightning is a representation of you. It makes your symbol lose any meaning. I guarantee you it’s not going to make villains think you’re nearby every time they see an electrical transformer or the Living Bitning. If you choose something so ubiquitous, you’re liable to accomplish nothing except making yourself forgettable. If you truly must choose a common symbol, because you’ve got literally nothing interesting about you except for your fascination with spiders, then please try to jazz it up a little. But don’t make it too jazzy, because again, it needs to be easily replicated by the masses. That’s obviously a very difficult tightrope to walk. You never want villains to have to stand around wondering if the burning bat symbol in front of their lair is your symbol or just a generic regular old burning bat shape. Anytime villains have to debate about anything, it’s really going to suck a lot of the gravitas out of your dramatic entrance. In my experience, villain debates cannot be stopped for anything, even the dramatic appearance of a bat-themed superhero.

Other popular insignia shapes are your superhero initials. A stylized “S” or “W” or “X” or “LMNO” can be easy to draw but instantly recognizable. Of course, you still run the risk of being confused for another superhero, there are only so many letters so odds are good that there’s another superhero nearby that your insignia technically could represent. I recommend spicing up your letter with something that is unique to you. Flames if you’re a fire guy. (Or if your vehicle is decked out with cool flames because you’ve got that need for speed.) A cool snowflake if you’re an ice guy. (Snowflakes are perfect for unique insignias. Even if you’ve got 37 ice users in your neighborhood you can guarantee that all of your insignias will be unique! It’s fractually amazing!) Another value of having your insignia be your initials is that it will help other superheroes remember which one you are. Having your initials emblazoned on your chest is the closest thing superheroes can get to having name tags and while it won’t tell other superheroes your whole name if they’ve never heard of you, it can get them part of the way or help jog their memory if they’ve met you but are having trouble placing you (because you aren’t cool). 

Once you’ve settled on a cool insignia you need to make absolutely sure that people associate it with you. Slap that baby onto everything. Your costumes, your vehicles, your weapons, babies. Your insignia should be on everything you own. The holidays are coming up, why don’t you gift your mayor or police commissioner a ginormous spotlight that projects your insignia into the clouds so that people know that random clouds are under your domain and protection. (You might be wondering, “isn’t giving somebody else a giant spotlight with your insignia a terrible holiday gift?” But how about instead of wondering that you shut your stupid face and stop asking valid questions ya nerd.) Start sticking post-it notes with your insignia on it onto other superheroes’ backs so people think they’re part of your team. (Wait, couldn’t this potentially make people think that it’s their insignia and that you’re part of their team.) Hey, how about instead of wondering that you shut your stupid face and stop asking valid questions ya nerd. (Oh no, I’ve become the very thing I hate!) Cover your city and all of its populace with your beautiful new logo! Order all sorts of memorabilia with your symbol plastered on it and hand it out to people after you save them. Paint it onto government buildings and your favorite pizza store in the middle of the night. (BRAND IT ONTO THE FLESH OF CRIMINALS HAHAHAHA!!!!!) Dude, too far. Aside from the actual flesh of your enemies and right over any of your vital organs, anything is fair game. 

Having a symbol is great branding. A unique symbol will set you apart from other heroes, and it allows people to identify with you without having to go through the grueling process of tattooing your face onto their body. Your symbol should strike fear into the hearts of criminals, and a sense of security in the hearts of the innocent. Designing your own symbol can be a fun outlet for self-expression, it can help people remember you, and it can assure people that you’re still the same hero they know and love when you change your look or need to wear alternate costumes. So what are you waiting for! Logo and get yourself a cool insignia!

[hiccupbutpurple]

I think it worked pretty well!

Also opens up to the possibility of them prank calling each other,,,,,or doing random silly things like roleplaying silly scenarios while other people are listening to them (I’m thinking of that soup store thing tbh),,,,,calling each other in the middle of the night either to get comfort or annoy the other (probs Viggo ringing Hiccup cause even tho they both probs have insomnia I think Viggo would do that for shits and giggles),,,,,leaving voicemails,,,,,

‘What’s project shellfire!’ ‘Oh, sorry my dear going through a dark zone your break-ishsjshshsh up shsjsh- thank you for the paper Ryker ’ ‘Viggo you didn’t hang up’ ‘oh shit.’

I tried to make the conversation in Triple Cross between Hiccup and Viggo sound like a phone call... it didn't work, but...

[tazzykiki]

Last time on The Real Housewives of Dragon’s Edge:

Keeping Up With The Grimborns and The Real Housewives of Dragon’s Edge crossover!

Hiccup and Astrid are dying, but they just can’t bring themselves to tell each other.

Problems pile up: a confusing conundrum of drama between the Grimborns, Hiccup’s gambling problem, and Project Shellfire which totally isn’t a censored version of Project Hellfire is active.

How long can Hiccstrid keep their alternating levels of horniness at bay? They can’t stop staring at each others butts.

[evilwriter37]

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/AnonymousHTTYDCollection/works/51029251

It is done :]

If you have a moment and feel like doing kt, have a read, my friend :D

Oh my gosh!! Yes, yes yes! That's so cool, anon! And I'm glad you found use of the anonymous collection on ao3! It's a good thing to have on an archive, honestly.

For those who want a clickable link:

Summary: Leaving Snotlout on guard duty has been a bad idea. It becomes painfully apparent to Viggo as he watches the flames spread. Meanwhile, Hiccup rushes into the fire to save his archenemy but with the Shellfire slowing him down, will he make it on time?

This looks so cool! I'm glad you were able to write and expand on the concept we discussed. That's awesome! It's in my bookmarks to read!

[justgotawesome]

The difference, my dear Hiccup, is project Shellfire. You two remember that, don't you?

requested by anonymous